MTN and Ctrack to offer comprehensive vehicle tracking & fleet management solution to business subscribers across Africa
African businesses of all sizes will soon benefit from access to fleet tracking and monitoring services. This follows the signing of a partnership agreement between Ctrack, a leading global telematics solutions provider from Novatel Wireless, Inc (NASDAQ:MIFI) and multinational ICT provider, MTN.
Through the partnership, MTN’s multinational and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) customers, will have access to Ctrack’s vehicle tracking and fleet management solution via their local MTN Business operation. This will enable MTN’s business customers to seamlessly integrate a standard fleet management and vehicle tracking solution into their existing mobile network offering, at an affordable rate.
The tracking platform uses MTN’s Pan African Internet of Things (IoT) SIM cards, enabling businesses to benefit from a single rate for IoT activity, across the company’s footprint in Africa. In addition, this will allow for vehicles to be monitored across borders.
IoT communication is used for automated data transmission and measurement between mechanical or electronic devices. It is fast becoming the mainstay of transport operations, where freight needs to be delivered rapidly across borders and where drivers and vehicle monitoring is essential to maintain a competitive advantage and make operations more efficient.
“With the Ctrack offering, significant cost and accessibility barriers are removed, such as offering standardised rates for services on the MTN IoT platform and reduced rates with other service providers. This enables development on a broader scale, leading to the establishment of a vast ecosystem of scalable solutions, addressing real-world needs,” said Mark Rousseau, Chief Operating Officer for Ctrack.
Through this value added service, MTN’s business customers will also benefit from Ctrack’s advanced GPS and GSM/GPRS technology to ensure vehicles are always visible through software-as-a-service (SaaS) tracking applications on smart devices or desktops.
“Given the similarities in the footprints of Ctrack and MTN, as well as the benefits which vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions could provide to our business customers, this partnership is a natural fit. Over and above this, the launch of fleet management services marks the beginning of MTN’s journey towards building an IoT ecosystem, whereby services such as fleet management can be leveraged to enable and enhance other offerings related to smart cities, smart health and smart agriculture,” says Debbie Minnaar, Acting Executive for MTN’s Group Enterprise Business Unit.
Ctrack’s extensive network of distributors will provide the in-field support for each country, which aims to enable the growth of these small businesses and subsequently, local economies.
The service is currently available in Benin, and will soon be rolled out to Ivory Coast, Zambia and Uganda, with expansion to the remainder of MTN’s footprint in the future.
About the MTN Group
Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator, connecting subscribers in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: “MTN.” As of 31 March 2016, MTN recorded 229 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. Visit us at, www.mtnbusiness.com and www.mtn.com
About MTN Business
MTN Business is the enterprise business unit within MTN Group. The unit has presence in 24 markets across Africa and the Middle East. MTN Business offers fully converged mobile and internet-based ICT solutions, aimed at enabling and inspiring the growth of our clients. Our offerings include Unified Communications and ICT solutions in Cloud, Internet of Things, Security and Managed Networks. Solutions are geared toward addressing the needs of clients in the public and corporate sectors, as well as small and medium enterprises. Visit us at www.mtnbusiness.com.